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Kathmandu. Two years after the Pokhara International Airport came into operation, Himalaya Airlines is set to start its first commercial flight. Himalaya Airlines is set to fly to Lhasa, China, from Chaitra 18. Himalaya Airlines has announced in a press release that it will operate flights connecting Kathmandu-Lhasa-Pokhara-Lhasa-Kathmandu. The company has set a flight schedule to connect Pokhara with Lhasa once a week, the company said in a press release.
Himalaya Airlines has already obtained flight permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAN) for the Lhasa flight. According to CAN Information Officer Gyanendra Bhol, Himalaya Airlines has sought flight permission to operate its first ‘scheduled flight’ to Lhasa. The Lhasa flight process is in the final stages.
Similarly, China’s Sichuan Airlines is preparing to operate commercial flights on the Pokhara-Chendu route from Chaitra 5. However, the process including flight permission from CAN has not been completed. The airline has stated that it is preparing to operate one flight per week on Pokhara-Chendu. Sichuan Airlines has an official General Sales Agency (GSA) Society International for Nepal.
CAN Information Officer Bhol expressed confidence that this flight will send the message that Pokhara International Airport is a regular international flight. The air connection network between Pokhara, the tourist capital of Nepal, and the world-famous ‘Roof of the World’ Lhasa is being expanded. With this, it is believed that the number of Chinese tourists in Nepal will increase. Himalaya Airlines currently operates five flights a week from Kathmandu to Lhasa. It is also planning to operate one more flight from Pokhara to Lhasa.
‘Himalaya Airlines has requested permission to operate flights from Chaitra 18, and the permission is in the process,’ said CAN Information Officer Bhol. ‘The permission is in the process to operate Kathmandu-Lhasa Pokhara and Pokhara-Lhasa Kathmandu flights.’ According to him, Himalaya Airlines’ aircraft will arrive in Pokhara from Lhasa on Monday and has requested permission to fly from Pokhara to Lhasa once a week on Tuesday. CAN has stated that flights may be added in the future as per demand. He said that the date of Sichuan Airlines’ flight has not been decided. Sichuan Airlines has already conducted a test flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu.
Businessmen are excited after direct flights from Pokhara to various destinations in China. Pokhara Tourism Council Chairman Taranath Pahari said that businessmen are excited about the direct flights from Pokhara to various cities in China. This is the first time that regular commercial flights are being conducted after two years of the construction of Pokhara Airport. This has excited the people of Pokhara, he said.
The Pokhara Tourism Council has also announced that it has prepared a package for tourists going from Pokhara to Chengdu on Chaitra 5th. Preparations are underway for businessmen to come from Chengdu and tourism businessmen from Pokhara to Chengdu to hold a Business to Business (B2B) program, Chairman Pahari informed. Vice President of the airline, Shrestha, said that with the start of the flight from Pokhara to Chengdu, tourists are expected to increase even during the slow summer season. He expressed confidence that this flight, which started on Kathmandu-Lhasa-Pokhara-Lhasa-Kathmandu, will encourage the airline’s objective of strengthening the relationship between the citizens of the two countries and promoting tourism and trade.
Pokhara International Airport, a project of national pride, was inaugurated on 17 Poush 2079 BS. So far, 11 chartered flights of various airlines have been operated, informed Pokhara Airport spokesperson Jashoda Subedi. Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, Rupandehi, came into operation as the second international airport in the country 71 years after Tribhuvan International Airport came into operation. Six months later, Pokhara International Airport became operational.
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